ETHIOPIA PROGRAM UPDATES
Eight Families See Referrals for
their Ethiopian Child
February was an exciting month for
adoptions from Ethiopia. On February 27, we welcomed home our
last traveling family out of the 10 total for the month.
Congratulations to you all and welcome home with your beautiful
children.
In March, five families have
received court dates and are awaiting decisions for their
adoptions. Our prayers are with you in this time of excitement
and anticipation.
Referrals - Also in late February,
eight Children?s Hope families received referrals in the
Ethiopia program. The eight referrals ranged in age from 2
months to 7 years old. Three were boys and 5 were girls and
included two sibling groups of two.
Congratulations to all of the
families who received referrals in February. Pending court
delays, families can expect to travel approximately 2 months
after officially accepting their referrals.
Wait times
The family who has waited the longest to receive a
referral has waited 5 ? months. With the growing number of
families applying to the Ethiopia program, please be reminded
that wait times can, and will, increase at anytime during the
adoption process.
Waiting Children of Ethiopia Program
Just Launched
With the launch of Children's Hope
Ethiopia Waiting Children?s program - even more children in need
will find homes and hope. This program, available to Children's
Hope families, highlights children available for adoption who
are older or have special medical needs.
"Please pray with us," asks Sharon
Turner, Children's Hope Ethiopia Program Director, "that the
children who will be featured here, and in all of our waiting
children?s programs, will find their forever families before too
long."
New Orphanage
Children?s Hope
International - Ethiopia signed a contract with Mother Land
Children's Assistance Association orphanage for the referral of
children. Mother?s Land is one of the largest orphanages in
Ethiopia and has several branches throughout the country. We
hope to receive referrals from them soon. We now have a
relationship with 4 orphanages, and others are being sought.
The Courts Close in Ethiopia on
August 6 this year. The date which the courts will reopen has
not been confirmed. Families will still be given referrals
during the court closure but families who receive referrals
during this time will not be able to travel until the courts
reopen, sometime in October.
Status of adoptions from Ethiopia
The number of adoptions form Ethiopia by Americans is still
small - 732 children in 2006, out of a total of 20,632 foreign
adoptions. But the growth curve, up from 82 children in 1997, is
the steepest that adoption officials have ever seen. It could
reach 3000 visas by the end of 2008. Ethiopia now ranks fifth
among countries for adoption by Americans, up from 16th in 2000.
2008 Children's Hope International.
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